Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid
Before the match, all was well between Benfica manager Jose Mourinho and his Real Madrid counterpart Alvaro Arbeloa, but there was an aggressive and ugly encounter in the second half. For Arbeloa, it capped a successful night for his side.
Benfica looked to be starting to fear Real Madrid, direct and fast after the start, but after the first ten minutes, Los Blancos settled into the game. Vinicius Junior swung a shot wide after a deflected cross shortly after. Thibaut Courtois made the first save of the game, getting down the left to stop a powerful effort from Fredrik Aursnes.
After the opening 20 minutes, both sides seemed primarily concerned with making sure they didn’t break out, protecting their box deep, and allowing the opposition to get out 30 yards. There was a sense that no one was completely watertight, and Arda Guler was the closest to taking out the Portuguese defence. After he ‘almost’ got through from behind, he found Trent Alexander-Arnold down the right. His ball zipped agonizingly past the boot of Kylian Mbappe in what could have been the opener.
Before the break, Real Madrid began to turn the screw, with Mbappe blazing down the left after a good roll from Vinicius, then testing Anatoliy Trubin. All this happened in the last five minutes before the break, and Guler saw his effort pushed onto the post by Trubin as well. At half-time, it was all Real Madrid, shutting down Benfica, but Mourinho’s men were strong.
Vinicius brilliance gives Real Madrid the edge
The second half got off to a spectacular start, with Vinicius taking just five minutes to score one of the goals of the season. Cutting in from the left, the angle seemed too tight, but Vinicius fired the ball into the arc towards the top corner beyond Trubin. That was just the beginning though.
The Brazilian was booked after his celebrations, then engaged in a war of words with Gianluca Prestianni among others. After continuing the jawing, Vinicius appeared to tell the referee that he had been racially abused, and was quickly seated on the bench. After a delay of about 10 minutes, and a red card for a member of the Benfica staff, the game resumed. Referee Francois Letexier has activated the anti-racism process.
After a ten-minute delay, the game took some time to get going, but it had an uneasy feel to it. Vinicius remained Real Madrid’s biggest threat at the break, while Benfica now have more players up front. Admirably for Real Madrid, they were strong in the face of increased pressure from the hosts, with Antonio Rudiger, Dean Huijsen and Aurelien Tchouameni rising to the challenge.
It was the challenge of Vinicius that caused the second controversy, as he brought down Richard Rios in the margins of the book. An angry Jose Mourinho demanded a second yellow for Vinicius, but it was he who received a second booking, with a red which will keep him on the bench at the Santiago Bernabeu next week. From the free-kick, Benfica went as close as they had done all night, the deflection almost landing under Courtois’ bar.
Benfica finally put Real Madrid under pressure, but couldn’t get the final pass as the game entered stoppage time. Los Blancos showed a level of comfort in defense that had not been seen for a long time, perhaps the most pleasing aspect of Arbeloa’s night. All focus will be on the incident between Prestianni and Vinicius, but his side were solid, mature and in control for most of the game, and will be heavy favorites at the Bernabeu – especially if they defend as they did.
